I had some good ol' fashion plain fun on my 26" wheels last Saturday. So I'm still on board.

Related question -- does anyone here think that the difference between 26 and 29 might have been blown out of proportion somewhat? Like maybe the difference isn't THAT big? I mean, I've taken a couple laps on a 29'er (a good one, too -- a brand new '12 carbon Tallboy). It wasn't the most technical or intense terrain ever, but I put 3 or 4 miles on it, including a couple climbs, descents, and a couple quick rock gardens. Of course, the Enduro and the Tallboy are quite different bikes altogether, so it was hard to tell what was due to the wheels vs. all other aspects of the bike. But IMHO, the difference was more like vanilla vs vanilla bean ice cream, as opposed to vanilla vs chocolate like people try to make it out to be.

Of course, there are those on MTBR that make a tubeless conversion seem like a huge change performance-wise. Where, for me, I couldn't hardly you the difference when I went from tubes to tubeless back to tube on the rear after I ripped up a sidewall. So maybe I just have an undistinguished pallet!

I guess my assessment is its easier to cover ground fast on the 29er. Acceleration seems slower. Not as much fun in the techy stuff. The 26" bike is more responsive, handles the techy stuff better but will not clean as large of objects as well as the 29er. When I go XC riding with a friend I grab the 29er, when I go mountain biking I grab the 26er. It's just more fun to ride. I guess when push comes to shove I really don't care for the wagon wheels all that much. I suppose if you are racing they are an advantage for most guys.

My guess is that many 29er are not riding the rough rocky descends, but I really do not know.

Yes - you really do not know.

I've ridden my 29ers at Northstar (lift served DH) and anywhere you can ride smaller wheels. The only real problem is that there is still a lack of heavy duty tires and longer travel forks for 29ers if you want to do downhill or freeride. Currently there is no problem at all with 29ers as all mountain or trail bikes - there are plenty of bikes in that category and plenty of us ripping it up on the most gnarly rocky downhills out there. If anything, that is where big wheels shine.

Its always good to have a sister to get some early practice in with, i did and now im married to her with 3 kids, the kids have a few inbred traits and deformities, but they will get over it....

Oh lol It didn't occurred to me that someone might of take it THAT way... Um... we were more like talking about it when I was going for my... I wanted to know what she thought she had more experience... I mean not too much experience... eh.. DONT JUDGE ME!

Anybody out there still think that 26" wheels are still the way to go for just plain fun?

29er bikes are defiantly the race choice but if you are a aggressive style rider then 26er is the way to go. 26er bikes are just plain easyer to handle and can be a lot more durable in all mountain bikes.

I'm a big guy (200 lbs, 6'2") and own both a 26" HT and a 29" HT rigid. They're definitely different beasts but both are fun as hell. Honestly, I'm keeping my 29er SS rigid because I don't think the geometry would be as fun to chuck around than my 26er.
It's kinda funny to see how many 29ers I see at the trail. I feel old-school sometimes when I ride my brand new On-one 456Evo.

I had some good ol' fashion plain fun on my 26" wheels last Saturday. So I'm still on board.

Related question -- does anyone here think that the difference between 26 and 29 might have been blown out of proportion somewhat? Like maybe the difference isn't THAT big? I mean, I've taken a couple laps on a 29'er (a good one, too -- a brand new '12 carbon Tallboy). It wasn't the most technical or intense terrain ever, but I put 3 or 4 miles on it, including a couple climbs, descents, and a couple quick rock gardens. Of course, the Enduro and the Tallboy are quite different bikes altogether, so it was hard to tell what was due to the wheels vs. all other aspects of the bike. But IMHO, the difference was more like vanilla vs vanilla bean ice cream, as opposed to vanilla vs chocolate like people try to make it out to be.

Of course, there are those on MTBR that make a tubeless conversion seem like a huge change performance-wise. Where, for me, I couldn't hardly you the difference when I went from tubes to tubeless back to tube on the rear after I ripped up a sidewall. So maybe I just have an undistinguished pallet!